Breathe
by Karlen
Summary: Songfic. Light Slash.. HPDM Relationship. Life after the war is harder to deal with than anybody would have thought


**Breathe**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the song (rights belong to Sixpence none the richer), but I do own the plot. Ha!

Warning: Character Death, Light slash (HP/DM)

_Take my sorrow and my sin  
I will run into your arms again  
Hold me Father _

A lone figure stands on the edge of a cliff, staring into the magnificent sunrise painted with brilliant gold, yellows, and pinks. His name is Draco Malfoy. His magnificent gold-spun hair is flying loosely into the wind as he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, savoring the moment. He slowly opens his soft grey eyes and in them is the greatest sadness in the world.

He has seen much the past few years; no longer the pampered and sheltered child he once was. Like hundreds, thousands of others, he lost much in the war. The final battle still haunted his dreams night after night. It was the night his love had died. A lone tear makes its way down the blonde's handsome face.

_Once again my tears are dried  
By Your perfect love that's river-wide  
Over-flowing _

He reminisced about the carefree years before the war, filled with petty schoolboy fights and laughing with his peers. The way he once knew exactly what he wanted to happen with his life and how he would accomplish it. He missed the way his lover's brilliant emerald eyes would seem to have an almost constant sparkle of mischief and playfulness. The soft, comforting words of love, the gentle caresses of his skin. Their love was perfect.

He reached under his robes for a moment, before drawing out a long silver chain with a platinum ring dangling on the end of it. He fingered the ring softly before turning it slowly to read the inscription engraved on it. 'Nunc scio quid sit amor'. A wistful smirk adorned the young Malfoy's face. Now I know what love is.

_As I stand on its bank  
with my arms overhead  
I am overcome _

It had been the last present from his love, the last night they had made love, the night before the final battle.

**Flashback**

"I love you so much." Harry whispered softly, reaching a hand out to caress his lover's face. Draco leaned into the touch, burrowing himself in the warmth and comfort emanating from the body atop him.

"I love you too." He opened his eyes and found himself staring into the swirling forest green of his lover's eyes. They never ceased to amaze him, the amazing range of green they went through. Dark when he was lustful or reflective, and a light, spring green when he was happy and carefree. Startled, he sat himself up on his elbows as Harry scrambled off of the bed. "Is something wrong? Where are you going?"

The only response he got was a mischievous little wink.

"Draco, I want you to close your eyes." Shooting his lover an incredulous look, he pondered his decision for a couple seconds, before warily closing his eyes. Shocking even himself with the amount of trust he was placing in the man before him, leaving himself completely vulnerable. He felt a cold chain being placed on his bare chest, making him shiver slightly. "Open your eyes."

He opened them slowly to see Harry standing before him, an adoring and slightly apprehensive look on his face.

"It means 'Now I know what love is'," he said softly eyes cast down, "I know it's a bit cheesy but I want you to have it. You mean so much to me." His eyes slowly rose to meet my own, glassy ones. The ring was beautiful. A platinum band adorned with one large emerald in the center, with a trillion-cut diamonds on either side.

"It's perfect."

**End Flashback **

_As I breathe  
the air of Heaven  
Drawing in Your fragrance_

'This, this is what you loved.' Draco thought softly watching the bold colors play across the sky, the sun inching its way higher above the horizon. It was only when he came here that he felt a kind of peace, a slow, relaxing comfort. An area untouched by man, he was isolated in the haunting natural beauty of it. Everything here reminded him of his lover: The luscious deep green grass seemed to reflect the color of his eyes, the ambiance of the cliff matching the comfort and warmth Harry seemed to exude wherever he went. The bold colors of the sky reminded him of his lover's adoration of nature's ability to create the most beautiful art in the world, using the sky as its canvas.

"I miss you so much." The words were carried out into a sea of nothingness, leaving a broken and haunted young man behind.

_When I breathe  
I feel your fullness come alive  
Inside of me  
you're the breath that I breathe  
Covered by the evening sky_

The sun was setting; a whole new pallet of colors adorned the sky. The same man was standing there, in the same place as he was before.

He had come up here only last week, and felt the impulse to come back once again. He needed to escape. The constant overbearing compassion and pity pitifully concealed from everybody he interacted with was too much to handle. It didn't help matters that he lived by himself in the traditional Malfoy Manor, alone to torture himself with his own thoughts.

It was here he found a comforting solitude, surrounded by everything that is Harry.  
What was he living for anyways? He was nothing without his love. While his physical appearance hadn't changed much over the years, with the exception of the slight discoloring underneath his eyes, it was almost impossible to tell the repercussions the final battle had left. The one thing that others couldn't see, however, was barely surviving. His soul, his reason for living, had been torn to shreds and withered to the darkest black.

_I turn my gaze to where your kingdom lies  
deep inside me  
a silent whisper in my mind_

Turning his soft gaze up to the magnificent sky, he sucked in a deep breath. 'Only you could cause the Gods to create something so beautiful'. Desperation was becoming overwhelming, and the overpowering urge to join his beautiful lover once more was invading his mind. 'I want to see you so much. I can't live without you.'

_Sweet surrender to your love divine  
Peace enfolding_

"Draco! No!" A desperate scream could be heard faintly in the back of his mind. It was of no consequence now. He was to join his love, wherever he may be. Taking one last, deep breath, he stepped off of the cliff, feeling the very air caress his body, and ease it slowly, slowly, towards his destination.

A powerful wave of peace and happiness coursed through him. It was indescribable.

_In the stillness I empty my soul  
And Your healing presence flows  
As I breathe_

Draco slowly opened his eyes. A soft yellow lit up the area around him, and he felt weightless. He felt a shifting presence to his side. His eyes opened wide in surprise, and his breath hitched with expectation. 'Please, please, let it be him.' He turned his head slowly to the side, and was met with the most wondrous sight in the world. A pair of piercing green eyes shining a soft, meadow green with an incomprehensible amount of love pouring from them.

"Draco."

Ron held the struggling figure back as she attempted to run after Draco, screaming and sobbing in his arms. He sighed softly to himself, and wondered if it were for the best. Draco had never felt complete or … right after the death of his best friend.

"Shh, Hermione. It'll be okay, it'll work out in the end." He attempted to calm the upset woman in his arms. "It'll be okay."

_The air of heaven  
Drawing in Your fragrance  
When I breathe  
I feel Your fullness come alive  
Inside of me_

"Harry?" His voice hitched as he said the name of the one he dared not believe was there. "Harry? I missed you so much…" his voice broke as the tears started streaming down his delicate face.

"It's okay Dray. I'm here." He felt himself enveloped in a pair of strong, warm arms and started sobbing even harder. How long had he imagined this? Longed for this moment? He reached his arms up behind to grasp the shoulders of the raven-haired man and pulled himself even closer to the comforting grasp. The faint smell of cinnamon and vanilla engulfed him. It seemed so surreal. Pulling back from the embrace, he stared searchingly into the pair of eyes that had haunted him. Searching, searching… Once he found what he had been looking for, he tilted his head up and kissed the other man lightly, lovingly on the mouth.

_You're the breath that I breathe  
It's taking hold  
It's second nature when I  
Savor... _

They made love that night. They explored each other's bodies for the first time in years, conveying a message of eternal love to one another.  
In the stillness of the night Draco smiled softly, the first, true smile in 4 long years. He studied the handsome face slumbering peacefully beside him, embracing him protectively even in sleep. The moonlight shone on the man's raven hair, illuminating strands silver, and making his tanned skin glow.

He was home, once again.

_When I  
Savor...  
You  
As I breathe..._


End file.
